Hi peeps,
After all the Congo drums on having broadband and wireless connectivity have faded in this island or ours, I just wish to say that we should have some form of technical quality control somewhere.
I am targeting at mobile broadband providers, namely M1 Broadband - It's everywhere. I would like to highlight to the service provider that the word 'Broadband' should not be misused as mere marketing tactics.
M1 Broadband users will understand what I am lamenting about - 'Server not found', 'Server time out', or simply slow-slow-slow connectivity. Yes, M1 does have a disclaimer to safeguard them that only town areas might get 'full' broadband speed. Does that mean that I dun not have to pay full broadband subscription charges if I'm out of their definition of 'town area'?
What also worries me is that MDA seems to be doing nothing about quality of broadband usage. There should be stringent ISO to allow the use of the term ‘Broadband’. If broadband cannot be implemented island-wide, then it should be called as trial and subscription be waived or subsidized. I hate to say that but it is just so typical of our ‘government agencies’ to do classroom planning, and simply kick-start something without ensuring enduring quality, end-users’ feedbacks and further developments. A good example is 3G video conferencing. How many Singaporeans are actually using it? Waiting for the 3G-industry to mature, I heard you protest? Common, it’s already 3.5G and I cannot even login to my mobile Gmail without hitting connectivity snags along the way!
So what do I really want to say? I hope the authorities and service providers can get their act together. MDA is to provide a time frame and yardstick. Service providers are to provide the valuable and competitive services. To be fair to M1, they are the one to first provide ‘mobile Broadband’ services. I hope Singtel and Starhub will follow suit and up the ante. Please lah, I hope by the time Apple comes out with the new 3G iPhone, we can have the correct IT expressway ready. KPE won’t cut it. CTE expansion won’t cut it. And I hope M1 Broadband is everywhere, and not glitches and disappointments everywhere!
Talking about expressway....sigh...